Five Times
by Hanako Tsukiyama
Summary: Ever since he had first come to know them, there was always a nagging question in the back of his mind that Manta could never answer: Were Yoh and Anna truly in love?  Expect fluff and probably some slight OOC.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

_**AN: Just a collection of short stories about Yoh and Anna. Beware of the fluff!**_

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><p><strong>The Five Times Manta Knew that Yoh and Anna Were in Love<strong>

**Prologue:**

Ever since he had first come to know them, there was always a nagging question in the back of his mind that Manta could never confidently answer: Were Yoh and Anna truly in love?

There was no doubt in his mind that they were close though Asakura Yoh, lazy but friendly, and Kyoyama Anna, apathetic and rather merciless, were polar opposites. They had no shame in declaring that they were engaged- Anna even declaring several times, in her usual indifferent tone, that she loved him- and they got along well enough. That, however, was exactly what confused him to no end. Being in an arranged union, Manta just assumed that the two merely accepted the wishes of the Asakura family and decided to play the part dutifully, even going so far as to say that they loved the other (in Anna's case anyway); it was, after all, normal for arranged marriages to have no real affection between the two partners, or so he had read from one source or another. The more he thought of that question, it baffled him all the more. "How could Yoh, whose life's goal was to live a care-free relaxed life, bear to suffer through Anna's continuous maltreatment?" He thought constantly, never quite reaching a definite answer.

It was obvious that they cared for each other, what with each of them constantly worrying over the other's well being. To Manta, they acted more like friends than lovers; kind of like the violent friendship that existed between Ren and Horo-Horo except more traumatizing in nature. A more accurate description of their relationship, in Manta's opinion, was that of a master and her slave. There didn't seem to be any indication of any deeper intimacies in their relationship (Manta didn't consider Anna's jealous tendencies since he figured that this was solely due to the fact that Yoh being with another woman would ruin Anna's dream of being the Shaman King's wife or the wealthy owner of the Funabari Inn) yet, they continue to remain together as fiancés.

As he prided his large knowledge, owing to his indulgence in reading, Manta was determined to discover the truth of his friends' relationship once and for all.


	2. Name

**Chapter 1**

**Name**

A couple of years had already passed since the end of the shaman fight that resulted in Hao's victory and their return to their normal lives, now as high school students. There had not been any real changes amongst them, perhaps except for a slight increase in height (that, unfortunately, wasn't bestowed upon Manta). Ren remained in Tokyo, accompanied by his sister, "because going back now would be tiring". Horo-Horo, Lyserg and Chocolove returned to their own cities, each working hard for their own dreams. Ryu and Faust, on the other hand, kept their promise and stayed at the inn along with Tamao, who remained with them as well.

Yoh and Anna's own dreams seemed to be just as alive. Despite being defeated in the tournament, Anna continued her relentless training on Yoh; as a matter of fact, she increased it by a tenfold, convinced that the increase of Yoh's shamanic powers would ameliorate the chances of the realization of her own dream. Each day Manta saw his dark-haired friend enter the classroom door, his slim yet muscular frame often bruised and exhausted, he was filled with pity and amazement in how Yoh could endure all this suffering without once losing his laid-back and cheerful attitude.

"A-Anna," the exceptionally short boy said nervously, against his better judgement, on a particularly trying day for Yoh, as he was forced to do the electric chair throughout the entirety of class. "Don't you think you're being a little hard on him?"

The blonde glared back icily, her dark eyes glittering in annoyance, and said in a tone that was equal in coldness, "Don't speak to me so informally."

Manta jumped at her gaze, clearly agitated. "So-sorry!"

She sniffed haughtily and looked away, ready to turn her attention to more important matters at hand. "No. And if you have any problem with my method, I'll make you do it too."

Manta spent the remainder of that period agonizing over the pain in his legs and mentally promising himself never to get in the way of Anna and her training ever again.

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><p>"Sorry you had to do that, Manta," Yoh told his friend, all the while he was massaging his own sore limbs though his almost ethereal relaxed countenance never left him. They were both lying, spent from their cruel punishments, on the school roof during lunch; Anna preferred to eat indoors.<p>

The smaller boy shook his head and grinned at the brunette. "It's okay… It's not as bad as what you always have to do." Yoh laughed in response then took a bite from his sandwich.

Manta munched on his own lunch, suddenly realizing that this particular moment was perfect for finally discovering the answer to his curiosity. He watched his friend relax against the cement floor, marvelling at the beauty of the massive backdrop of blue above them, before he began his innocent investigation. "Say Yoh…"

"Hm?" He took another bite.

"Do you love Anna?"

The moment the words left his lips, a shower of half-chewed morsels of bread, tomatoes and meat descended on his fair head. "_EEW!_ YOH! That's disgusting!"

The said person was already sitting upright, eyes widened in surprise and face glowing red in embarrassment. The shaman wiped his mouth against the back of his hand, stammering incomprehensively, "Wha-what are you-? I mean- Why are you- this- all of a sudden-?"

Manta nearly laughed at him as his face changed into several darker shades of red- a bright, monochromatic rainbow- and, unable to continue his incoherent babble, he buried his face in his hands then curled into a fetal position.

Picking off flecks of lettuce from his soiled uniform, Manta asked uncertainly, "So… is that a yes?"

He didn't receive any form of reply. Instead, Yoh remained in that position until lunch ended, even at which time he refused to say a word, leaving Manta still intellectually deprived.

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><p>Manta tried asking Yoh, being too frightened to ask Anna as he still recalled the pain of Anna's wrath through the insistent aches of his thighs, several more times. Each attempt, however, remained fruitless as Yoh always responded in a similar manner as the first inquisition.<p>

'I guess…' Manta thought, pouting after yet another unsuccessful endeavour, which led to Yoh nearly drowning in the hot spring when he attempted to curl into a ball. He stood alone in the changing room of the inn, having been invited to dinner, while Yoh had left ahead of him wordlessly after having recovered from the incident. 'The direct approach won't work on them… I'm sure that Anna will say that she does, if she does respond to my question instead of slapping me, but I can't tell whether she's lying or not since she's always so emotionless!'

He sighed in frustration, drying off his damp hair with a new towel. 'These two are a mystery. Why can't they just admit that they like each other or not?'

The thought made him stop in his tracks.

'What if they don't actually like each other like that?'

He let out a short unsteady laugh. "No…" He said out loud, trying to convince himself with his own voice. "Yoh and Anna wouldn't stay with each other just because they were told to if they didn't like each other!" His voice seemed doubtful even to his own ears.

"Well…" He contemplated under his breath, "All Anna seems to care about is her dream as an inn owner so I guess she doesn't really care since being with Yoh would let her achieve her dream anyway…" He furrowed his brows in concentration. "And Yoh… well, Yoh is lazy so he might think that it's easier to let his family pick his future wife instead of picking someone himself."

All of a sudden, Manta could hear the call of Ryu in the distance, announcing the preparation of dinner to everyone.

"This isn't the time to be thinking such things!" He told himself, brushing away his thoughts with light reprimanding pats on his cheeks. He pulled on the remainder of his attire and hurried to join everyone at the table.

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><p>By the time Manta arrived at the dining room, most of his companions were already there, carrying platters of Ryu's homemade food to the low table.<p>

Feeling somewhat left out and useless, Manta voiced uncertainly, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

The former delinquent just shook his head with a smile, arranging the appetizing dishes along the equator of the tabletop. "No, we've got it all covered. You can just take a seat."

The petite boy obliged unwilling, watching the rest busy themselves about the room and noticing that there was someone missing amongst them. "Hey, where's Anna?"

Tamao looked around quickly and shrugged. "Anna-sama is probably still in her room."

Manta stood up immediately, filled with a sense of purpose as he declared, "I'll go call her down for dinner then," and rushed out the room before anyone could protest.

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><p>Manta walked along the darkened corridor leading to Anna's room, feeling little more than slightly stupid for his earlier enthusiasm. He had never really ventured to this end of the building before since he was worried about the possible dire consequences of trespassing into Anna's domain- the consequences he momentarily forgot in his abrupt outburst. He felt the smooth wooden panels of the walls that guided him down the long hallway, unable to see ahead of him until he saw the trickle of light that escaped through the cracks what he presumed was Anna's doorway.<p>

"Anna," the boy called out, unnerved by the darkness around him although he had already encountered many of the terrors that often hid in such environments. "It's time for dinner."

Suddenly, a strong force pushed him away from the door just as he was about to knock. 'Wha-' he thought in shock as he looked up to see one of Anna's shikigami standing before him menacingly.

"Do _not_ call me by my name." The familiar frosty voice, coated with underlying malice for the sudden intrusion, came from the depths of the room, beyond the unopened door. Tears welled up in Manta's eyes automatically, though he ought to have known what was going to happen to him, having known her for years.

"Now Anna, don't be so mean."

The tears were replaced with a smile as Manta turned to see Yoh's unperturbed form enter his line of vision. The taller boy grinned at his friend serenely as he helped him up and told him, "don't worry about it too much Manta, she normally like this after a nap." His words triggered an annoyed "Shut up, Yoh" from within the room, causing the said boy to laugh good-naturedly, unfazed by his fiancée's harsh tone.

"Just go ahead downstairs; they've already started eating. We'll be right there." After Yoh said this, he entered the forbidden chamber easily and shut the sliding door behind him, leaving Manta outside, utterly confused.

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><p>When the couple returned, rejoining the animated party, they didn't interact with each other in any particularly affectionate manner. Anna, as per usual, was scolding her betrothed about one thing or another while he took her rebukes with a smile.<p>

Ryu, in an attempt to calm the situation, said, "Why don't you both just eat? I'm sure you can both talk about this later, Anna…" The itako glared at him viciously, making the older man gulp and continue with a squeek, "-sama!"

The itako then turned her gaze to Manta, who nearly jumped in fright. "And _you_…" She began threateningly, "I hope you realized your place by now." The boy nodded fervently, unable to speak under her stare.

"Let's be nice to our friends, Anna." Yoh said, sitting at the low table and grabbing a bowl of his own.

"You'll both be weeding the garden before school tomorrow."

Manta let out a yelp of agreement, not wanting to anger her further, but Yoh just nodded his head, almost absentmindedly it seemed to Manta which, though he knew that Yoh was accustomed to such demands by now, surprised him since the dark-haired boy usually showed a terrified expression, which was currently absent, at her angry one.

"Hai, hai," Yoh said, swallowing a mouthful of food. "Now come and eat before the food gets cold." He patted the empty space beside him pleasantly and Anna obliged with an "humph".

The pair conversed lightly as they ate and the air around them seemed to soften with every passing second though nothing in her expression would betray it. This was unnoticed by all but Manta who eyed them like a guppy in his wide-eyed disbelief.

'I can't believe it! She not angry at all anymore! And she didn't slap Yoh at all when he said her name! I guess…' Manta thought, shocked at his revelation, 'they really _do_ like each other.'

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><p><em>AN: Uh… I got distracted halfway so I had to change a bunch of stuff so that it matched with the randomly added babble my sleep-induced mind produced… Sorry about that… Hopefully I won't get sidelined in the next few chapters.<em>


	3. Smile

**Chapter 2  
>Smile<strong>

The bright sunshine illuminated the summer scenery of Tokyo, spreading the infectious energy that the warm weather brings. Nature, with the humming cicadas and colourful display of flowers in every city park, seemed to beckon all in its happy fervour as the masses flocked the streets, eagerly welcoming the fresh air.

While the city buzzed with joy, one particular place was dampened by one itako's foul mood.

Manta sat on the porch of the inn, keeping a wary eye at the aggravated girl whilst praying for Yoh to hurry home. Through some cruel trick of fate, Manta had decided to pay his friends a visit after finishing the last of his summer homework, hoping to enjoy the warm weather with them only to find that everyone had decided to act on those same feelings elsewhere without his knowledge- all except for Anna who ardently despised the heat. She had stationed herself in front of the lone electric fan in the sitting room, a frown permanently etched on her features while grumbling about the temperature and glaring at anything and everything that caused her to waste any unnecessary energy. After years of being acquainted with her, Manta knew better than to go any closer at this state, even to ask for the location of their friends, other than to follow any orders she may have- anything to make her less irritable.

'How could Yoh just leave me? Everyone else too! What could they possibly be doing right now that it would take them so long to return?' Manta fumed as he lay back on the wooden floors, staring up at the ornate glass wind chime that hung above him, its tintinnabulation resonating with the slight vibrations of the floors due to his movements. 'Was it really too much trouble to wait for me instead of leaving me here with Miss Grumpy?' He flailed his limbs in annoyance, knocking his fists on the floor boards as he did so.

A growl emitted from within the building; "Would you keep it down out there!"

Manta yelped in fright, letting out a squeak of apology before resuming his silent rage at the traitors who left him in this miserable position.

'I wish I could go out too… But there's nothing to do… I'll probably just end up doing nothing at home anyway.' He sighed quietly, careful not to incur any more anger from the girl inside.

After a few more moments of silent pondering on his part and television viewing on Anna's part, Manta was effectively bored. Left with no other real options, he decided to try his luck and ask Anna where the others had gone.

"…Hey Anna...-san" He called cautiously, quickly adding the honorific before any other bad luck befell him.

"…"

As he expected, only silence greeted him but he could practically feel her evil waves seeping through the cracks of the house as if reaching out to exterminate the source of her displeasure. Still, he persevered in broken tones; "Could you tell me- please!- where Yoh and the others are?"

"I don't see why," She began, vehemence and ire coating her words like poison as the old electric fan ticked at each word, "I have to tell _you _anything of the sort."

Manta let out a brief squeak before swiftly scooting further away from the open shoji door- just in case- and quickly bowing his head in the most formal manner as a form of deep repentance. "No, of course not! You're perfectly right about that!"

"Hmph." The pre-empted punishment never came, likely due to her lethargy in the summer heat, and only the minute noises of the worn out fan and banter from the television broke their mutual silence.

Daring to finally lift his head, Manta resumed his sitting position on the porch, facing the direction in which the others would eventually reappear. He was not disappointed for, within a few minutes, the approaching figures of the other residents of the inn materialized before his eyes.

'_Finally!_' He thought, immediately waving his hands enthusiastically to the group.

It was Yoh, standing at the head of their lively procession, carrying a large watermelon and a grocery bag over his shoulder, who first saw him. "Oh, it's Manta!" He waved back in greeting and proceeded to yell, "Hey, what are you doing there? We were hoping that you would come with us to the park!"

"I was looking for _you_, you idiot!" Manta yelled back, forgetting all restrain as he let the pent up frustration within him explode in an instant. As his ire ebbed, an indescribable chill overcame his tiny body, giving him the strange feeling of having his soul drained out of him. He involuntarily shivered at the sensation of impending doom, hesitating to turn around in the direction of the demonic force- there could only be one thing, after all, that could bring such calamitous aura.

Seemingly oblivious to the dark shadow that had befallen across Manta's face, as well as that of his fellow companions as they halted in their tracks at the sight of the menacing figure stirred behind shoji frame, Yoh waved cheerfully once again. "Hey there, Anna! We're back!" Her response did not equal his in liveliness; rather, the glare she threw in his direction contrasted the supposed intimacy of their relationship.

Ignoring the look she gave him, Yoh walked up to her, eager hands outstretched to display the objects in his hands. "Look, I got the watermelon and ramune you wanted! Perfect for getting over the heat, right?" He grinned proudly, as if the scowl on his fiancée's face would magically transform into a smile.

"Why are you all so freaking _noisy_ when it's so hot out?" She growled in annoyance, throwing an especially dirty look at Manta. Yoh merely laughed; "well then, there's no better time to eat watermelon and ramune*, is there?" Gently, he ushered the itako into the house while giving Manta a quiet signal to join the rest of the group that was silently sneaking away in order to avoid the misfortune of Anna's wrath, leaving Yoh to be their unfortunate sacrifice.

The group decided to settle in the main garden, returning to their earlier merriment at Anna's departure from their company. At each robust laugh they gave, Manta could not help but feel the tingling sensation of worry that, at any moment, some shamanic power would exact on them the revenge of Anna's earlier rage.

No such thing happened.

Instead, Yoh came out, evidently perfectly healthy and unharmed, happily calling them in to eat some of the watermelon they had brought home. Hesitating at first, their hunger and fatigue got the better of them and they were compelled to follow him into the sitting room and sit around the low table, eagerly waiting for their promised meal.

Unexpectedly, it was Anna's subdued figure that entered the room bearing a platter of sliced watermelon, passing each of them a slice while walking around the table. Not knowing what to say at the rare sight, each of them muttered an embarrassed "thank you" then quickly averted their eyes to their food. Anna, on the other hand, ignored their words and continued around the circle of people until she reached Manta.

Manta looked up at the girl nervously, awaiting the pain that was sure to follow the unnerving stare she gave him. Rather than the sound of skin hitting skin, he heard the calm chuckle of Yoh as he walked over, holding a bottle of chilled ramune in each hand.

"Relax, Manta! Here, have a bottle." He tossed the uniquely-shaped bottle in his direction; the smaller male caught it and looked at the pair in confusion. He carefully watched the exchange between them as Yoh nudged the girl at his side and she silently complied with his unspoken insistence, giving the promised slice of fruit to Manta. Baffled, the boy gave his thanks though he was already lost in the notice of the two.

Yoh had already turned his attention to his betrothed and smiled at her. "And one for you too, of course." At his words, he lightly pressed the cool glass on her cheek, causing her to flinch slightly at the chill it gave her.

"Baka!" She exclaimed, snatching the bottle in his hand and stalking off to an empty corner at the other end of the room.

Manta eyed them both as Yoh followed after her, still all smiles, saying something in low tones that wouldn't carry to prying ears like his. Eventually, the anger in her dark eyes subsided and something that looked akin to a coy smile decorated her usually indifferent features.

Hurriedly, Manta looked away- it would not have been smart to keep watching lest Anna's eyes ventured in his direction. Nevertheless, his find only strengthened his newly discovered belief in their mutual love. "I mean," He thought resolutely, attacking the red flesh of the watermelon with greater fervour, "what else could it be?"

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><p>*<em>Ramune<em> – a Japanese carbonated drink often associated with festivals and summer time. (I suggest for you to try it, if you haven't already.)

AN: It ended up differently than expected but- hey!- I finished it. It's been a long time since I last read the manga by now (the first chapter was written almost immediately after I finished rereading it) so any inconsistencies are due to that… Although they are still, regrettably, my fault.


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